Lawyer sent to jail for misbehaving with judge

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday handed down six months imprisonment to a lawyer for misbehaving with judge.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 100,000 on the lawyer, Advocate Zahid Mahmood Goraya.

LHC Chief Justice (CJ) Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan pronounced the verdict following which the police took Zahid Mehmood Goraya into custody from the court premises.

The chief justice conducted proceedings for more than three and a half hours on the reference and recorded evidence from three witnesses, with Syed Farhad Ali Shah serving as the prosecutor during the proceedings.

The lawyer requested time and again to adjourn proceedings after Eid holidays, besides tendering an unconditional apology.

Lahore High Court Bar Association President Asad Manzoor Butt also requested to pardon the lawyer, adding that they would pay a visit to Justice Sultan Tanvir Ahmad and seek an apology.

However, the chief justice observed that he had taken an oath under the Constitution.

After the announcement of the decision, the police took the lawyer into the custody.

Goraya had misbehaved with Justice Sultan Tanvir Ahmad following which the judge sent a reference to the LHC CJ for initiation of contempt of court proceedings against the lawyer.

Justice Sultan Tanvir Ahmad forwarded a reference to the chief justice for taking action against the lawyer on charges of committing misconduct in his court.